At the start of 2025, the South African Government and Public Sector Unions concluded one of the few outstanding agreements on pay adjustments. The article, therefore, gives a summary of the agreed-upon wage increases, the implementation period, the affected employees, and what remains subject to further negotiations.
The Public Sector Wage Agreement for 2025-26
In the 2025 National Budget, the Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced a salary increase of 5.5% for civil servants for 2025/26. Further adjustments for 2026 and 2027 shall be fixed at CPI plus 1%. This particular wage agreement is estimated to cost R23.4 billion over a period of three years between 2025 and 2028. It, therefore, would have been the first-ever multi-year wage settlement to have been implemented in the Public Sector since 2018.
In Past Offered Points and Bargaining Proposals on Unions
The government tabled a lesser offer from the outset. The Public Sector unions bargained for and secured a 5.5% increase in pay. Giving effect to the salary increases whereby the Department of Basic Education gazetted the salary increases for teachers from 1 April 2025, has thus applied the increase of 5.5%. In accordance with the resolution of the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC), to give effect to the arrangements, the other allowances (housing, medical, etc.) shall be adjusted.
Implementation: Time and Mode
The salary increment is not retroactive for full one year; hence, the effective date is 1 April 2025, and all remuneration shall be adjusted with effect from the said date. The payroll systems of all national and provincial departments shall apply these salary increases in any paid periods applicable after that date. The adjustments shall be pegged at the CPI plus one percent for two years thereafter (2026/27 and 2027/28).
Impact Across Public Service Roles
- Teachers: All scales have an increment of 5.5%; entry-level and top-level scales have been revised in accordance with updated higher values.
- Other public servants: Persons under the P.S.A. or such similar arrangements shall receive a price-variation grant equivalent to that increase in percentage.
- Allowances and benefits: Housing allowances, medical subsidies, and some other allowances shall also be examined in light of this agreement.
Certainly, given a technical document, the Salary Adjustment Table published by highway service indicates how guaranteed and potential claims vary depending on the salaries paid at the lower level and the middle level (1-12 level as far as P.S.A. is concerned).
What Deputy Public Servants Should Do
- Examine your payslip from April 2025 as it must contain the 5.5% adjustment.
- Know your allowances as these may be changed and may vary between departments.
- Watch for trends on how CPI behaves: the next increase will be calculated at CPI+1%.
- In case of any consideration or complaint regarding implementation, involve your union.
- Look for departmental circulars outlining the payment date and adjustments.
also read : SASSA R2,315 Old Age Grant October 2025: Full Provincial Payment Schedule